Arcade Fire brought their Infinite Content Tour to the United Center Monday night, treating the crowd to an in-the-round setup. It was quite literally a boxing ring equipped with a rotating stage positioned in the middle of the arena. The effect? A more intimate, club-like feeling in what is otherwise a venue better suited for sporting events than concerts. I dug it, along with their stellar lighting (bonus points for not one but two disco balls) and thoughtful production.
Arcade Fire is just one of those bands that really comes to life live. Their songs have such anthemic qualities and there’s just so much to watch; so much talent to witness. It’s like a game of musical chairs—who’s going to play what instrument next? And because of that, my expectations are high at their shows.
So I’m happy to report that they exceeded my expectations yet again. This is a band that gives their hearts and souls to their fans, night after night. And from the look of it, they have fun doing it too. The setlist favored their latest album Everything Now, but pulled from their entire discography. It was a pre-Halloween dance party, as many attendees rocked some incredible costumes.
Special guests The Breeders’ opening set reminded me that ’90s grunge lives on and still rules. Set highlights included “Cannonball” of course, as well as a cool cover of The Beatles’ “Happiness is a Warm Gun” and a nod to Kim Deal’s former band, The Pixies, with “Gigantic.” Their new stuff sounds stellar as well and left me anticipating their upcoming 2018 release.
THE BREEDERS
SETLIST
Everything Now
Signs of Life
Rebellion (Lies)
Here Comes the Night Time
No Cars Go
Electric Blue
Put Your Money on Me
Neon Bible
We Used to Wait
Intervention
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels)
The Suburbs
The Suburbs (Continued)
Ready to Start
Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains)
Reflektor
Afterlife
Creature Comfort
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
ENCORE
We Don’t Deserve Love
Everything Now (Continued)
Wake Up
